Whistleblower protection
The Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as the “Law”) establishes a mechanism for the protection of persons who have provided information about a violation within an institution with which they have or had an employment, service, or contractual relationship. The Law also sets out the rights and obligations of persons who report violations within institutions, the grounds and forms of their legal protection, as well as measures for their protection, encouragement, and assistance, with the aim of providing appropriate opportunities to report violations of the law that pose a threat to or infringe upon the public interest, and ensuring the prevention and disclosure of such violations.
Under the Law, information on violations may be reported regarding:
- threats to public safety or health, or to a person’s life or health;
- threats to the environment;
- obstruction of or unlawful interference with investigations conducted by law enforcement authorities or with the administration of justice by courts;
- financing of illegal activities;
- unlawful or non-transparent use of public funds or assets;
- unlawfully acquired assets;
- concealment of the consequences of a violation or obstruction of efforts to determine the extent of such consequences;
- violations specified in the list approved by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, drawn up taking into account the scope of application of the European Union legal acts referred to in Directive (EU) 2019/1937;
- harm to the financial interests of the European Union, as referred to in Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and further specified in relevant European Union measures;
- violations relating to the internal market, as referred to in Article 26(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including violations of European Union competition and State aid rules, as well as violations relating to the internal market concerning acts that breach corporate tax rules or arrangements intended to obtain a tax advantage that defeats the object or purpose of the applicable corporate tax law;
- other violations.
A person may report information about a violation:
- to the State Digital Solutions Agency (VSSA) through the internal channel for reporting violations (by email at [pranesk@vssa.lt](mailto:pranesk@vssa.lt)); we recommend submitting a report by completing this violation reporting form, or by submitting a report in free form (information shall be provided in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers).
- directly to the Competent Entity at VSSA – Renata Marmienė, mobile phone: +370 618 43017;
- directly to the competent authority (the Prosecutor’s Office);
- publicly.
Confidentiality will be ensured for the person who reports information about a violation.
The requirement to ensure confidentiality does not apply when:
- the person who is providing or has provided information about a violation requests this in writing;
- the person knowingly provides false information.
A person shall not incur any contractual or tort liability, nor liability for insult to honour and dignity or defamation, as a result of reporting information about a violation, provided that, when reporting such information in accordance with the procedure established by the Law, the person had reasonable grounds to believe that the information provided was true.
A person shall be liable for damage resulting from the reporting of information about a violation only if it is proven that the person could not reasonably have believed that the information provided was true.
The provision of knowingly false information, as well as information constituting a state or official secret, does not entitle the person to the guarantees provided under the Law. A person who knowingly provides false information or discloses a state or official secret or a professional secret shall be held liable in accordance with the procedure established by law.
The procedure for reporting information on violations allegedly being prepared, committed or already committed at VSSA, the receipt and assessment of information on violations, decision-making, and the whistleblower protection measures applied are established in the Description of the Procedure for Reporting Information on Violations at the Information Society Development Committee, approved by Order No. TE-65(2020) of the Director of the IVPK of 4 June 2020, drawn up in accordance with the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania and Resolution No. 1133 of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania of 14 November 2018 “On the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers of the Republic of Lithuania”.
More up-to-date information on whistleblower protection can be found at [www.pranesktiesa.lt](http://www.pranesktiesa.lt)
The Prosecutor General’s Office presents a methodological guidance tool intended for persons reporting violations under the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers, as well as for administrators of internal channels for reporting violations: [https://www.pranesktiesa.lt/naujienos/1/pristatome-naujiena-gaires-pranesejams:33](https://www.pranesktiesa.lt/naujienos/1/pristatome-naujiena-gaires-pranesejams:33).
We invite you to watch the video clips providing information about the whistleblower protection framework:
Last updated: